Sit Darnell Washington in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4 projected points lands 3 under the TE starter line.
- Projection
- 4 pts
- TE rank
- #30
- Matchup
- vs CLE
Darnell Washington's fantasy role in Week 8
Darnell Washington goes into Week 8 of the 2026 season as a deep-league TE flyer for the PIT. He is rostered in 5% of leagues and actually started in 3% of them, and we rank him TE30 on our own weekly board at 4 projected points.
Roster rates are steady week over week, so his role looks settled rather than in flux.
No injury designation to work around right now, which keeps his projection honest.
Week 8 matchup breakdown
The matchup: vs CLE. Our Pepper Meter heat rating for this spot is 1 out of 5, which is how we grade the combination of role, projection and opponent difficulty.
Against a typical starting TE baseline of 7 points, his 4-point projection is 3 points short. That gap is the whole start/sit argument in one number.
How to play it
Sit Darnell Washington in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4 projected points lands 3 under the TE starter line.
If you are deciding between him and another TE, compare projections first, then lean on the Pepper Meter heat rating as the tiebreaker.
Sally's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Darnell Washington (PIT TE), our TE30 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season vs CLE, projecting 4.0 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Sally's honest about it: 3 points under the starter line isn't the ceiling she chases. He grades 43% below the average weekly TE number, which is a floor problem more than a ceiling one. CLE is the opponent, and that's the part of this I'm least worried about. Mild on the Pepper Meter is generous, honestly.
Tina's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Darnell Washington (PIT TE), our TE30 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season vs CLE, projecting 4.0 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Tina calls it a floor problem: 3 points under the starter line is a lot of risk for a lineup spot. 3% of managers already start him, and the depth-chart role behind that number looks stable. He grades 43% below the average weekly TE number, which is a floor problem more than a ceiling one. The Pepper Meter cools him to Mild, and that reading is doing its job.